It’s kinda hard not to have a design crush on Kelly Beall of Design Crush. She is a graphic designer, based in Oklahoma, with impeccable taste, and a great sense of humor. We “met” through Twitter, but I was so excited to see her pretty face, instead of a teeny-tiny icon, last January at Alt Summit. She is sassy, funny, & oh so fashionable… yep, totally crush-worthy! I knew when I invited her over for the weekend she’d show us something amazing… and she did not disappoint!
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I’m jealous of Kate MccGwire

The first time I saw Kate MccGwire‘s feathered works I literally had to stop and catch my breath. I’d never seen art that felt like it was breathing until that moment. I’d never been intimidated by a mass of feathers that somehow managed to feel both evil and serene. And I’d definitely never had to look away to gather myself because something was so horrifyingly beautiful. Kate’s work does all that to me and more. The labor of love that lies behind every time intensive piece inspires me to persevere, while the juxtaposition of menace and beauty has me looking at everything I see through a different set of eyes.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Whoa. Gorgeous! Thanks so much lady! Hope to see you in Salt Lake City again in 2012 ~ xo

You know the expression “being at the right place, at the right time”… yep, well, that totally applies to the work of Swiss-born, Paris based artist Felice Varini. At first glance I assumed these were just geometric designs digitally layered over a photograph…  I was wrong. They are in fact geometric designs painted directly onto actual buildings, but, the trick is, you must be standing at an exact point to see them, otherwise they appear as random broken lines (as seen above). Yeah, I know… Ah- mazing!

{via Honestly… WTF}

Oh mon dieu! Everything is more fabulous in Paris, even the pot holes! Artist Juliana Santacruz Herrera has taken it upon herself to make a few repairs… one colorfully dyed, braided, coiled piece of cloth at a time. Yep, yet another reason to go to Paris. Sigh.

I have to admit that when I first saw this installation piece, titled “hasta las narices” {which translates to “fed up”} by Mexican artist Ivan Puig, I wasn’t sure what was going on… but whatever it was, I liked it! Ok, that car slowly sinking into the milky-white floor is insanely amazing, no?! Anyway, after a little searching around, and with a little help from Google Translate, it all became clear… ish:

“The project consists of three parts installed, its origin is related to the proportions of events and their relativity. It uses the format of the comic. The viewer passes between the parts to zoom way out, this discursive system gives special emphasis to the last piece, which is synthesized and dimension making the whole work.“

{via Booooooom}

I have to admit, I’ve had a hard time writing light-hearted posts every day since the disaster in Japan. I can’t even begin to imagine what the people there are going through. My heart goes out to everyone whose life has been changed by these catastrophic events. Much love to you all. If you’re able to, donate now to the Canadian Red Cross, or to the American Red Cross.

{A few of my favorite Japanese artists: 1. Yuko Takada Keller 2. Yasuhide Kunimoto 3. Toshiaki Uchida I hope all of them, and their families, are safe.}

Ahhh… it was a blur of glitter, candy sprinkles, painting, assembling, matting, and a whole lot o’ coffee. Yep the opening of, TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS AS PAINFUL AS IT SEEMS, New Work by Ben Skinner, was everything I’d hoped it would be. I had planned to write this post last week, but honestly I needed a bit of time to come down from the thrill of seeing this show actually come together. Aaaand exhale. Ok, I’m ready. From the 65′ text mural, to the 20′ foam board scaffolding, everything came together perfectly. All of Ben’s work looked amazing, the opening was filled with wonderful/excited people, and I still can’t believe I got to curate my first show with such an incredible artist at a gallery staffed by really, really, really nice people. Thank you Ben, and the Honfleur Gallery. It was an amazing journey. What now? Well, on to the next proposal I guess!

{1. TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS AS PAINFUL AS IT SEEMS ~ glitter on Alupanel  2. HOME WRECKER ~ ink on wood  3. TWICE ON SUNDAYS ~ candy sprinkles on wood  4. A SIMPLE GESTURE ~ paint & dye on wood  5. I’VE GOT JUST THE THING ~ watercolor, gold leaf on glass  6. MAYBE WE CAN WORK SOMETHING OUT ~ RGB LED’s & light tube  7. UNTITLED ~ 20′ foam board scaffold  8. THIS TIME NEXT YEAR ~ 65′ text mural  9. THE BLINDS LEADING THE BLINDS ~ ink on wood blinds  10. a. THIS ONE’S GOING TO HURT ~ spraypaint on mirrored plexi  b. NOW TAKE A DEEP BREATH ~ paint on plexi  11. MY HEART IS BIGGER THAN YOUR FIST ~ glitter coated screenprint 12. The Honfleur Gallery on opening night… the show runs until April 8th, so pop in if you’re in DC!}

Yes… so far this experience has been all of those things:  astounding, brilliant, amazing, incredible, fabulous… Washington DC is astounding, Ben is brilliant, the staff at the gallery are amazing, and we got to do an incredible interview yesterday. In short, it’s been fabulous!

The 65′ mural is done. The two storey high foam board scaffolding sculpture has been assembled. The site-specific work is in place throughout the neighborhood {ex. ‘every time you walk by’, shown above},  and there are just a few pieces left to hang at the gallery today… and then at 7pm the doors at Honfleur Gallery will open. I’ll be back with a full report {and photos of everything mentioned above!} on Monday morning – wish us luck! Oh, and if you happen to run into the Obama’s, let them know that they’re invited. Thanks!

YES!!! This is exactly what I was talking about… last year I put together a ‘jealously curated’ show called Comfort Food, that featured a whole bunch of sewn, knitted and crocheted food. I loved them all, but the only thing that could have made those pieces better was scale… and then Melbourne based artist Dawn Tan came along with her giant marshmallows, huge crackers, and insanely big bag of Yorkshire pudding mix! Yep, I’m just going to say it… sometimes size does matter.

{via share some candy}

It’s go time people! The work has already arrived at the Honfleur Gallery, and as of tomorrow morning Canadian artist Ben Skinner, and his lovely wife/installation assistant/fellow artist Genevieve Dionne, will be boarding a plane for Washington DC. Ben is creating some of the work on-site {a painted text mural, site specific vinyl text installations, and a 20 foot sculpture} and so, obviously, he needed a few extra days on the ground! I’ll be arriving on Wednesday to do whatever he tells me to do, and of course, hang the show. TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS AS PAINFUL AS IT SEEMS opens on Friday March 4th at 7pm. You really have to see the glitter-covered screen prints, and the pink text coated in candy sprinkles with your own eyes. Yes. I said candy sprinkles.

{I cannot wait to post photos of the final show… stay tuned! If you want to see more of Ben’s work, check out ‘the jealous curator goes to washington (1) and (2)‘. Happy weekend everyone xo }

So, I’m sure most of you are thinking… ‘Diamonds? Mix Tapes? Big juicy steak? More diamonds? Wait, I thought Valentine’s Day was last Monday?!’, and of course you’d be right. However, that doesn’t change the fact that I’m still totally in love with these salvaged wood bas-relief sculptures by Rotterdam based artist Ron van der Ende. And let’s be honest, I’d be quite happy with either one of those giant diamonds whether it was Valentine’s Day or not… am I right ladies?